Use of geographic information systems to assess the feasibility of ground- and aerial-based adulticiding for West Nile virus control in British Columbia, Canada.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis of 34 forecasted high West Nile virus (WNV) risk communities in British Columbia (BC), Canada was useful to assess feasibility and planning of the operational logistics of an emergency spray event in advance of a WNV outbreak. The geographic coverage and operational time required to perform ground- and aerial-based ultra-low volume (ULV) adulticiding were calculated using GIS. The mean geographic coverages of the ground-, aerial-, and combination of ground- and aerial-based adulticiding strategies were 39%, 61%, and 69%, respectively. The driving distance, driving time, and number of treatment nights required to perform ground-based spraying of an entire community were also calculated. Due to the large variability of treatment coverage estimates within and among the communities, no single treatment method was identified as the best strategy for province-wide ULV adulticiding in BC. Instead, the strategy for each community should be examined individually with local knowledge and expertise.